Battery clamp



Jan. 19, 1937. N 2,068,544

BATTERY CLAMP Filed July 31, .1934

ZNVEIYTOI? HENRY J. HAHN Patented Jan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates in general to battery clamps, and particularly to that type of clamp suitable for use in connection with the terminals of storage batteries of the automobile and radio type.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that the clamps usually employed on batteries used on automobiles are held in place upon the battery terminal post by means of a bolt. When the terminals are not properly taken care of, there is a chemical action set up which causes a corrosion of the parts and which makes it very difficult to remove the clamp. It is sometimes very difilcult and even impossible to remove the bolt from such a clamp, since it also has become corroded.

The principal object of my invention has been to overcome the disadvantages above pointed out.

Another object has been to provide a clamp which may be conveniently and quickly applied to or detached from a battery terminal post without the use of tools.

Moreover, my clamp is of such a nature that it will securely grip the battery terminal post; and, since no bolt or nut is employed, the chances of having a disconnected terminal by reason of a loose nut is entirely obviated.

Furthermore, my device is so designed that the parts are constantly held in contact with the post by spring pressure, which makes a loose connection impossible.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device shown in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. l is a plan view of my complete device, showing it attached to a battery terminal post.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the device.

The device comprises an upper clamp member 5 and a lower clamp member 6. Each clamp member is provided with a jaw portion 1 which is substantially circular in form, as shown, the outer ends of which are connected together by means of a pivot pin 8. The ends of these jaw members are preferably overlapped, as shown in Fig. 2, and the overlapped parts preferably have a thickness which is one-half of the entire thickness of the clamp. The inner faces 9 of the jaw members are curved or circularly shaped to a radius substantially equal to the radius of the battery post to which the device is to be applied. These surfaces are also slightly inclined to fit the usual taper found on battery terminal posts. Such surfaces are preferably serrated or roughened so as to more firmly engage the metal of the post. Such a battery post is shown at III in Fig. 1, in which a fragmentary portion of the battery II is also shown. So as to increase the area of the contacting surfaces 9, I may provide a short flange I2 extending from the bottom surface of each of the clamp members and around a portion of each surface 9.

Extending tangentially from each of the jaw portions 1 of the clamping members is a clamp 10 arm iii. The curvature of the jaw portions and the arrangement of the clamping arms are such that when they are assembled, the clamp arms will cross each other, as clearly shown in the drawing. The material in each of the clamp arms, where it coacts with the opposite arm, is halved, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, by the provision of a recess M. The united thickness, therefore, of the two coacting clamp arms at the point where they are superimposed, is substantially the same as the total thickness of the device. The recesses M are, of course, considerably longer than the width of the arms so that there may be some relative movement of the two members.

Provided at the outside of each of the clamp arms I3 is a spring engaging head l5. These heads are preferably arranged at an angle with the clamp arms so that when in normal position they will lie substantially parallel with each other. In the inner opposite face of each of these heads is provided a hole I6 in each of which is disposed one end of a helical spring ll.

One of the clamping members, as for instance the member 6, is provided at some point, preferably near the pivot pin 8, with a terminal lug 3 which has the customary hole or recess IS with which the terminal 20 is designed to engage.

Since the clamping members are superimposed and crossed, it will be obvious that when the spring engaging heads l5 are gripped by the fingers and forced toward each other, the jaw portions will be separated as the clamping members are moved about their pivot pin 8. When sufiiciently separated, the clamp is placed down over the battery terminal post I0 and, upon release, the spring will force the spring engaging heads away from each other which will cause the jaw portions 1 with their serrated, circular faces 9, to be clamped about the battery post. The spring I! is made of such strength that the surfaces 8 will be firmly embedded into and held upon the battery terminal post. It will be obvious that since the spring is under constant compression, the jaws will be constantly held in firm contact with the post and that there will, there- 'fore, be no tendency or possibility of their becoming loose by jarring or otherwise.

Obviously, some modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not,

therefore, wish to be limited to the exact em-' bodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof. I

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A battery clamp comprising two clamp members connected at their inner ends by means of a pivot pin, each member having a terminal engaging portion adjacent the pivot pin, said engaging portions having their top and bottom surfaces lying in substantially the same horizontal planes, a clamp arm, and a spring engaging head, the clamp arms being superimposed and crossed, and a compression spring arranged between the spring engaging heads, whereby the jaw portions are drawn toward each other in clamping manner as the spring forces the spring heads away from each other.

2. A battery clamp comprising two clamp members connected at their inner ends by means of a pivot pin, each member having a terminal engaging portion adjacentthe pivot pin, said engaging portions having their top and bottom surfaces lying in substantially the same horizontal planes, a clamp arm, and a spring engaging head, reinforcing flanges carried by each terminal engaging portion, the clamp arms being superimposed and crossed, and a compression spring arranged between the spring engaging heads, whereby the jaw portions are drawn toward each other in clamping manner as the spring forces the spring engaging heads away from each other.

3. A battery clamp comprising two clamp members connected at their inner ends by means of a pivot pin, each member having a terminal engaging portion adjacent the pivot pin, said engaging portions having their top and bottom surfaces lying in substantially the same horizontal planes, a clamp arm, and a spring engaging head, reinforcing flanges carried by each terminal engaging portion, the clamp arms being superimposed and crossed, each arm being formed in its adjacent surface with a coacting recess, and a compression spring arranged between the spring engaging heads, whereby the jaw portions are drawn toward each other in clamping manner as the spring forces the spring heads away from each other.

HENRY J. HAHN. 

